DU hockey: bagel talk with the Brookwells

When a son scores his first career goal, sometimes it creates enough emotion for a proud father to weep.

Just reading this story might create tears in your eyes.

DU sophomore Cody Brookwell scored his first goal March 14 in a 6-3 playoff-series-opening victory over Minnesota-Duluth. Brookwell, the Pioneers’ biggest player at 6-foot-4 and 200-pounds, is a proud defensive-defenseman whose complete focus is protecting his own net.

And he does it well. But with every hockey player, scoring a goal is the fun part, and it had taken Brookwell far too long to get his first.

Fittingly, his big opportunity came when being released from the penalty box and accepting a breakaway pass, with a clear route to the opponent’s net.

So what did he do? He looked like a true sniper, firing a hard backhander that landed top-shelf to rattle the goalie’s water bottle.

So what did Kevin Brookwell, Cody’s father, do after hearing about the goal in his Calgary home?

“I was jumping around the house like an idiot and didn’t know what to do,” Kevin said. “I, like Cody, have been waiting two years for this and I enjoyed every moment with my boy.”

Kevin and Cody enjoy each other’s company before every DU game. It’s a ritual that every father would cherish and every son would appreciate. It’s true love, father-son style.

It’s the bagel talk.

“Prior to every game Cody gives me a call. It’s part of his pre-game routine. We call it the “bagel call” and he goes up into the stands, home or away, and has a pre-game coffee and either a bagel or banana,” Kevin said. “Sometimes we chat about nothing, sometimes we chat about the game, but he hasn’t missed a call since starting with Denver. I’ve excused myself from some pretty important meetings to take that call and I’ll never miss it.”

So what do they talk about?

“We joke about the nice plaque I have for his first NCAA goal. Every call I tell him I’m taking the plaque out of his room and putting in on the coffee table for the game. Every game I ask him if he’s getting me that goal so I can mount the puck on the plaque.

“Of course, every game he says he will and after every game, when he calls home, I sadly, but jokingly, tell him I’m putting the plaque back in his room. He knew how big this was for me and he was so proud to make the call (after the goal).”

Cody’s teammates know about his bond with his father. They know about the pregame phone call, and that Kevin is Cody’s No. 1 fan.

“He must have passed the story on to his teammates at some point, because they were telling him how happy Mr. B was going to be and that Cody should call home to make sure I wasn’t lying on the floor with a stroke,” Kevin said.